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Ocean Beach Police Indicted

It's good to see a prosecutor express concern about police lawlessness. It's even better to see a prosecutor do something about it.

Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota characterizes the police in Ocean Beach, a Long Island resort village, as "thugs in police uniforms" who are "out of control." A grand jury agreed, returning indictments yesterday against the acting chief and three other officers for beating a Manhattan software executive, Samuel Gilberd.

Gilberd was at an Ocean Beach bar on Aug. 28, 2005, when a bouncer accused him of littering. Gilberd was taken immediately by the bouncer across the street to the police department, where he was issued a ticket, said the lawyer, D. Carl Lustig III. The lawyer said police "savagely attacked" Gilberd, kicking him in the gut and dragging him into a room.
The beating may be the proverbial tip of the iceberg. The acting chief fired five officers last year, who in turn sued the village, alleging they were fired for cooperating with Spota's investigation into corruption within the department.

Spota, noting that Ocean Beach has settled a number of lawsuits alleging police brutality, is vowing to conduct a "widespread investigation into criminal activity by police in Ocean Beach." Other accusations against the acting chief include his association with a drug dealer and his cover-up of "bar brawls" that are instigated by off-duty police officers.

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  • Display: Sort:
    Geezus (none / 0) (#1)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 10:44:53 AM EST
    And they say it is only in the movies.

    Mabe that will be their defense, TV made them do it . . .

    there's more (none / 0) (#2)
    by scribe on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 01:23:46 PM EST
    in the NYDN

    The indictment charged acting Police Chief George Hesse with viciously beating and stomping a New Yorker who had gotten a littering summons.

    Three other cops were charged with covering up the 2005 assault by concocting lies that a clock fell on Samuel Gilberd's head and that his injuries were self-inflicted.

    "It was a police department gone wild," said Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota.

    The indictments follow a federal lawsuit filed last week by five former Ocean Beach cops who claim they were wrongfully fired because Hesse believed they were cooperating with investigators probing police misconduct.

    That lawsuit claims Hesse hung out with a drug dealer and ran his department like a "fraternity house," where he had sexual liaisons and covered up cases of off-duty cops brawling in bars.

    "Hesse and his cronies are a disgrace to the uniform and the badge," said Kevin Lamm, one of the suing cops.

    * * *
    After getting a littering summons, Gilberd kicked the door on the way out, angering Hesse and setting off the "egregious" brutality, Spota said.

    Officers Paul Carollo, 46, and Arnold Hardman, 51, allegedly dragged the victim to a back room of the stationhouse, where the stocky Hesse, 38, allegedly pummeled the 150-pound victim, Spota said. Officer William Emburey, 41, a former NYPD sergeant reporting for his first night on the job, allegedly guarded the door.

    While Gilberd was on the floor, Hesse allegedly kicked him in the stomach so hard his backbone ruptured his bladder.

    Gilberd's wife eventually found him unconscious on the stationhouse floor. It took 21/2 hours to get Gilberd to a mainland hospital by boat after cops waved off a medevac helicopter, claiming the victim was only drunk and unruly.

    Yeah.  So unruly his backbone ruptured his bladder.

    If they kicked your (none / 0) (#3)
    by bx58 on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 03:36:51 PM EST
    ass for littering what did they do to the real criminals eg,pot smokers,jaywalkers and seatbelt violators?

    You always feel safer around big-city cops IMO.

    Also on LI.... (none / 0) (#4)
    by kdog on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 06:42:39 PM EST
    The Fire Island police just beat the piss out of some poor slob too.